[toomanytoys2]

So my first order of business has been to get the Joyner front suspension up to par. The PO had disassembled many of the pieces and put them back together wrong, as well as using the wrong bolts for the reassembly. I also had a lot of thought about upgrading the Yerf front end vs. going with the Joyner. However, cost wise the Joyner was the most economical route, plus it is a proven design. After doing a lot of searching, I am able to rebuild the complete Joyner front end for about $200. Just the heavy duty ball joints and spindles for the Yerf would be $180. Plus I need to have front brakes for what I plan on doing, so that would have been more $$$.

Now some of the parts that I needed were NLA, so a little searching was in order. My main concern for the front was that it was missing the front axle on one side. I could have had my dad make me one on the lathe (my skills aren’t as good as his), but another forum said that an Arctic Cat part was interchangeable. However, when I ordered the part and tried to install it, there was too much play in the bearings. So I disassembled the other front wheel to compare the parts and discovered that the axles were not the same. The Arctic Cat part had a shoulder on it where the Joyner part did not (see Pics). So I chucked up the AC axle and tuned the shoulder off. The AC axle was still a little shorter than the Joyner, so I had to use a thinner washer between the nut and the hub.

Next I had to make some upper shock bushings for the front shocks. The PO had lost them and the stock ones are NLA. In my stash, I have quite a few parts that were destined for my Baja. Luckily I found some shocks that had a Urethane type shock mounts. I was able to press them out and turn them down in the lathe to match the Joyner shocks (se Pics). So now I have the front end in “working: condition. I am still waiting for some parts for the complete rebuild.

My next big hurdle is to work out the CV system. My plans for it are to use a Joyner 250 mid axle with sprocket and match it up to the CVs. However, I do not plan on using the Joyner CVs and axles. My plan is to graft the outer stubs and inner spline section to VW CV cups. This way I can get the axles at just about any length and the CVs will be stronger then the Joyner’s.